Acknowledgements

1Awork such as this could not see the light of day without the participation of a large number of people. The task that the authors were set of producing maps and commentaries was a very difficult one indeed as they had constantly to bow to the intractable requirements of legibility and format. However, their suggestions and comments on the different parts of the atlas have undoubtedly contributed to improving its content and quality, especially those from Manuelle Franck and Michel Bruneau. Contributions from specialists were also vital: Aimée Lafitte for the graphic design and for drawing the maps, Hilary Koziol for the English translation, Marie-Bernadette Darignac for the text composition and lay-out, Charles-Antoine Arnaud for the synthesis statistical analyses, Alain Vergnes for the photo processing.

2My thanks go to my colleagues at REGARDS under the French National Center of Scientific Research (CNRS) and the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD). Anahit Santana and Jean-Etienne Bidou devoted themselves to reading the final proofs and scrutinizing the maps for any incoherencies and errors. Marie-José Claverie and Carlos Jénart brought their skills as librarians to the service of the atlas and devoted much time and energy to finding bibliographic references and surfing the net. Olivier Pissoat shared his knowledge of statistical mapping.

3I must also thank Jean-Paul Deler, director of REGARDS whose confidence and support, both institutional and scientific, never faltered throughout this long undertaking; Jean-François Baré, head of the IRD team “Public Intervention, Spaces, Societies” for his conviction that he would see this painstaking scholarly work ultimately reach its conclusion; to Christian Taillard of the CNRS for his experience and advice. The support of other colleagues in France and in Thailand was also invaluable: Pong-in Rakari-yatham of the University of Chiang Mai; Veerapong Saenjan of the University of Khon Kaen who has supported this project in every way possible.

4This atlas could never have been produced without the collaboration of the personnel in institutions in Thailand, ministries, agencies and specialist bureaus: among the many bodies contacted were the National Statistical Office (NSO), the Board of Investment (BOI), the Ministries of Agriculture (MAC), Industry, Interior, the Ministries of Transport and Communications (MOTC), Labour and Social Welfare, the National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB), the Royal Thai Survey Department (RTSD), the Petroleum Institute of Thailand (PTIT), the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), the Royal Thai Irrigation Department (RTID); many individuals, department heads and employees, all had the kindness and patience to listen, to provide available information and data, to share their experience and knowledge. I would like to thank them here and assure them that every effort has been made to produce an atlas that will be a relevant and useful working tool. As this long-term project reaches its conclusion, my thanks also go to Teerapong Rodprasert of the MOTC and Duangjai Asawachintachit of the BOI for their encouragement and the wealth of invaluable help they provided.

5The CNRS and the IRD provided considerable material and financial support. I would also like to thank the Laboratory of Applied Cartography (IRD), under the leadership of Pierre Peltre, and the Department of Information and Communication (IRD), especially Pierre Rondeau and Thomas Mourier, whose support was primordial in having the atlas translated into English and published.